■ Team Trump went to war with the news media after Mr. Trump’s contentious news conference.

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President-elect Donald J. Trump at his news conference at Trump Tower in Manhattan on Wednesday.CreditDamon Winter/The New York Times

Clapper tries to smooth the waters, but Trump’s response contradicts him

In an extraordinary statement on Wednesday night, James R. Clapper Jr., the director of national intelligence, said he had reached out to Mr. Trump, a man who compared the intelligence agencies to Nazis, to try to ease the president-elect’s concerns.

Mr. Clapper said he had expressed his “profound dismay” at leaks that have emerged since the intelligence chiefs briefed Mr. Trump last Friday on Russia’s efforts to help elect him president. And he disavowed any authorship of the dossier of unsubstantiated compromising material that Russia is reported to have on the incoming president:

“I emphasized that this document is not a U.S. intelligence community product and that I do not believe the leaks came from within the I.C. The I.C. has not made any judgment that the information in this document is reliable, and we did not rely upon it in any way for our conclusions. However, part of our obligation is to ensure that policy makers are provided with the fullest possible picture of any matters that might affect national security.”

Someone is lying here. Mr. Clapper’s statement was explicit: The intelligence community “has not made any judgment that the information in this document is reliable” — a far cry from a “false and fictitious” denunciation.

Of course, Mr. Clapper will soon be heading to the exits, replaced by former Senator Dan Coats, assuming Senate confirmation. So whether peacemaking at the top will ease the ill will in the rank and file of the Trump White House and the intelligence agencies has yet to be determined.

Giuliani named to head cybersecurity review

“As the use of modern communications and technology has moved forward at unparalleled speed the necessary defenses have lagged behind. The President-elect recognizes that this needs immediate attention and input from private sector leaders to help the government plan to make us more secure.

Mr. Giuliani was asked to initiate this process because of his long and very successful government career in law enforcement and his now sixteen years of work providing security solutions in the private sector.”

Mr. Giuliani, as chairman of the global cybersecurity practice at the law firm Greenberg Traurig, brings expertise, but his experience in complex communications policy is checkered. His tenure as mayor is still haunted by the decision to place an emergency command center at the World Trade Center over the opposition of the New York Police Department. The command center, of course, was destroyed by the terror attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

L.L. Bean finds itself in Trumpian storm

L.L. Bean, known for its preppy sportswear, rubbery boots and New England reserve, finds itself in an unexpected position: the crossfire of the Trump wars.

“We are deeply troubled by the portrayal of L.L. Bean as a supporter of any political agenda.

L.L. Bean does not endorse political candidates, take positions on political matters, or make political contributions. Simply put, we stay out of politics. To be included in this boycott campaign is simply misguided, and we respectfully request that Grab Your Wallet reverse its position.”

There is another problem with Mr. Trump’s intervention. It could contravene ethics rules that prohibit government endorsements of privately made products.

Subpart G contains four provisions designed to ensure that employee do not misuse their official positions. These include:

A prohibition against employees using public office for their own private gain for the private gain of friends, relatives, or persons with whom they are affiliated in a non-Government capacity, or for the endorsement or any product, service, or enterprise.

Trump team in open warfare with news media

It’s hard to know which of Mr. Trump’s relationships is worse: with the intelligence agencies or with the news media.

After the president-elect’s contentious news conference on Wednesday, his first as president-elect, indeed his first since July, Mr. Trump graciously posted on Twitter on Thursday morning:

We had a great News Conference at Trump Tower today. A couple of FAKE NEWS organizations were there but the people truly get what's going on

Schumer comes out against Sessions’s confirmation

Senator Chuck Schumer of New York, the Democratic leader, plans to announce on Thursday that he will oppose a fellow senator, Jeff Sessions of Alabama, when his nomination as attorney general comes to a vote, saying he is not confident that Mr. Sessions would “serve as an independent check on the incoming administration.”

“The attorney general of the United States has a sacred obligation to enforce our laws and uphold the constitution. The law gives a voice to the voiceless, it protects the oppressed from the powerful and it defends the rights of all people, regardless of gender, sexuality or religion. The attorney general must wake up every single day ensuring the rights of all Americans: immigrants, minorities, young and old, gay and straight, disabled and not are protected. Every right — freedom of speech, freedom of religion, the freedom to vote or any other enshrined in our Constitution or the law — must be protected for every American.”

The decision does not leave Mr. Sessions’s ultimate confirmation in doubt. No Republican has come out against him, and more conservative Democrats, such as Senators Joe Manchin III of West Virginia and Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota, may well support him.

But it does mean that the final Sessions vote is likely to be split largely along party lines.